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Document Number: Battelle-TBD-6001 

Appendix D 

Effective Date: 3/14/2008 

Revision No. 0 

Site Profiles for Atomic Weapons Employers that Refined 

Uranium and Thorium - Appendix D 

United Nuclear Corp.

Page 1 of 7 

Document Owner: David Allen 

Approval:__Signature on file _____ Date: _ 3/13/2008 _

 J.W. Neton, Associate Director for Science 

Supersedes: None 

RECORD OF ISSUE/REVISIONS 

ISSUE 

AUTHORIZATION 

DATE 

3/14/2008

EFFECTIVE 

DATE 

3/14/2008 

REV. NO. 

0 

DESCRIPTION 

Appendix to Battelle-TBD-6001 describing 

the use of the TBD for claims at United 

Nuclear Corp. 

D.1 Introduction 

This document serves as an appendix to Battelle-TBD-6001, Site Profiles for Atomic 

Weapons Employers that Refined Uranium and Thorium. This appendix describes the 

results of document research specific to this site. Where specific information is lacking, 

research into similar facilities described in the body of this Site Profile is used. 

D.2 Site Description 

Throughout its history, United Nuclear Corporation located in Hematite, Missouri, 

manufactured uranium metal and uranium compounds from natural and enriched uranium 

for use as nuclear fuel. The fuel was manufactured for use by the federal government and 

government contractors and by commercial and research reactors. Research and 

development was also conducted at the plant as well as uranium scrap recovery1

. 

Mallinckrodt Chemical Works built the plant which became operational in July 1956. 

The plant initially produced uranium products for use in the naval nuclear fuel program. 

Ownership transferred to United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) in May of 1961. In 1970 

the operator became Gulf United Nuclear Fuels Corporation, which was a joint venture 

between UNC and Gulf Nuclear Corporation. The facility was closed in 1973 and sold to 

Combustion Engineering in May of 1974. In 1989 Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) began 

operating the facility as ABB Combustion Engineering. In April of 2000, Westinghouse 

purchased the nuclear operations of ABB which included the Hematite facility1

. 
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Appendix D 

Revision No. 0 Effective Date: 3/14/2008 Page 2 

Most of the operations at the facility involved manufacturing reactor fuel for the naval 

nuclear program or commercial reactors rather than weapons work. However, the 

Department of Energy has determined that the facility performed uranium scrap recovery 

operations for the weapons program between 1959 and 19692

. Therefore, all sources of 

radiation exposure during this time period must be accounted for, including that from 

commercial and naval reactor work. After 1969 only radiation dose caused by 

contamination remaining from weapons related work must be accounted for (residual 

contamination)3

. 

D.3 Occupational Medical Dose 

No documentation regarding occupational medical dose specific to United Nuclear 

Corporation was found. Information to be used in dose reconstructions for which no 

specific information is available is provided in ORAUT-OTIB-0006, the dose 

reconstruction project technical information bulletin covering diagnostic x-ray 

procedures. 

D.4 Occupational External Dose 

Occupational external dose information was found as reported in an AEC inspection 

report for license renewal at the site in 19604

. The average badge results for beta 

radiation were reported as 80-90 mrep in a monthly badge program. The maximum result 

was 240 mrep. The maximum gamma badge reading recorded was 15 mrem for the 

monthly program. These results were for workers in the production areas. Readings 

were lower for all other monitored workers which were listed as pilot plant, laboratory, 

and maintenance personnel. Due to the limited information available, operators will be 

assumed to have been exposed to the maximum monthly reading every month. Operators 

include all personnel routinely operating uranium processing equipment or handling 

uranium materials. Also, mrep was a unit used to distinguish beta dose from gamma 

dose. This dose estimate assumes the two to be identical. 

Laboratory personnel as well as Supervisors, maintenance personnel, guards and others 

that may have routinely entered the production areas but not routinely operated uranium 

processing equipment or directly handled uranium will be assumed to have been 

continuously exposed to the distribution of monthly readings. The distribution was 

determined by assuming the readings are lognormally distributed and the Geometric 

Mean of the gamma readings is half the maximum reading. The maximum reading is 

taken to be the 95th percentile of the distribution. The average beta reading of 90 mrep 

was considered the Geometric Mean for the beta dose distribution with the maximum 

reading again taken as the 95th percentile. 

Office personnel and others that did not routinely enter the production areas will be 

assumed to have been exposed to a lower value. This lower value was calculated by 

determining the external dose rate if airborne uranium was allowed to concentrate on the 

floor as discussed in section D.6. Therefore, the external dose for this group of workers 

is the same as that to all workers during the residual contamination period. 

The values for Operators and Office personnel represent bounding estimates since 

operators are assumed to be continuously exposed to the maximum recorded value and 

Office personnel are assumed to be continuously exposed to the maximum 

contamination. As such, these values should be considered a constant; that is, no 
Document No. Battelle-TBD-6001; 

Appendix D 

Revision No. 0 Effective Date: 3/14/2008 Page 3 

distribution parameters should be assigned them. External dose for the Supervisor group 

is a lognormal distribution. Tables D.2 and D.3 present these values as mrem per year for 

each job category as well as the appropriate parameters to describe the distributions. 

 

D.5 Occupational Internal Dose 

There is a considerable amount of air monitoring data available for uranium dust for 

1959-19605

. The data consists of weekly air sample averages by person along with 

urinalysis taken approximately quarterly on the same people. There is also more 

urinalysis data available in 1962 through 19646, 7. The later data is listed by job 

categories (operators, technicians, engineers, foremen and guards) while the early data is 

not. 

Urinalysis samples starting in late 1962 revealed some operators had higher intakes than 

previously believed based on air sampling8

. Several improvements were made and the 

samples were reduced by mid 1963. Therefore, the urinalysis results were broken into 

four categories. The categories were operators prior to June 1963 and after June 1963 as 

well as “others” prior to June 1963 and after. All the samples in each group were used to 

determine parameters of a lognormal distribution of urine samples. From these 

distributions, intake rates were determined assuming first type M solubility material and 

then type S material for each of the four categories. In determining the intakes, a 

constant chronic intake was assumed from 1/1/1958 (the first day of the covered work) to 

6/13/1963 (the day before the sample date showing a significant decrease in results). The 

second period assumed a constant chronic intake from 6/14/1963 to 12/31/1969 (the last 

day of the contract period). 

The resulting intakes are the geometric mean of a lognormal distribution. The intake 

rates along with the geometric standard deviations (GSD) are listed in Table D.1. When 

the calculated GSD was less than three, the value of 3.0 was substituted in order to 

account for the uncertainty in the biokinetic models used in dose estimation. The same 

criteria used in the external dose section of this appendix should be applied here to 

categorize a person as operator, supervisor, or other. The geometric mean of the 

supervisor intake will be used for people categorized as other. Since this category is 

reserved for people that do not routinely enter the production areas, this value represents 

a bounding estimate and should be considered to be a constant. 

These assumed intakes were compared with a sampling of the individuals for which both 

air sample data and urinalysis data exist5

. The geometric mean of the assumed intakes 

underpredicted urinalysis results for the people with higher sample results but 

overpredicted those with lower results. This indicates good agreement with the 

distribution. However, the calculated intakes in Table D.1 for type S material were 

considerably higher than the air sample results for these people. The intakes calculated 

for type M material did, however, match the air sample values reasonably well. The 

reports containing these values imply the most significant difficulty they had in 

controlling intakes involved the metal reduction area. This area would contain both type 

M and type S material and it is likely the highest urinalysis results came from type M 

exposures. However, it is not possible to determine if the urine sample results from 

1962-1964 involved only type M material or less soluble type S material. Therefore, 

since both were available at the site, intakes rates for both were determined and the dose 

reconstructor should apply the more favorable of the two. 
Document No. Battelle-TBD-6001; 

Appendix D 

Revision No. 0 Effective Date: 3/14/2008 Page 4 

D.6 Residual Contamination 

Residual contamination from weapons related work may have been present at United 

Nuclear after weapons work ended in 1969. Only exposure from weapons related work is 

addressed after 1969 even though additional exposure from non-weapons related work 

may have been received3

. 

In order to estimate this residual contamination, the highest intake rate from table D.1 

was converted to an air concentration and assumed to settle to the floor and accumulate 

for an entire year. The surface contamination resulting from this was then assumed to 

exposure an individual for 2000 hours per year. Both external exposure and intakes from 

resuspension were calculated based on this value. 

A letter to the AEC5

 describes some of the measures taken in 1960 to reduce airborne 

concentrations. These measures included wet mopping at frequent intervals not only the 

floors but overhead, piping and duct work. It also describes various type of ventilation 

used to remove airborne contaminats. Therefore, the assumption that all the airborne 

contamination settled out and was never removed is considered a bounding estimate and 

will be used as a constant in dose estimates. 

D.7 References 

1. RefID 30008 (pp. 16-17) Westinghouse, 2003, Hematite Former Fuel Cycle Facility 

Decommissioning, Historical Site Assessment, May 20, 2003 

2. DOE Office of Health, Safety and Security, EEOICPA web site. 

http://www.hss.energy.gov/healthsafety/fwsp/advocacy/faclist/findfacility.cfm 

3. NIOSH, 2007, Radiation exposures covered for Dose Reconstructions under Part B 

of the Energy Eemployees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act Rev. 0, 

OCAS-IG-003, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Office of 

Compensation Analysis and Support, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

4. RefID 3944 (p. 51) Atomic Energy Commission, 1960, Compliance Inspection 

Report of Mallinckrodt Nuclear Corporation, January 12 through 14, 1960 

5. RefID 17606 Frank Zeitlin, United Nuclear Corporation, 1960, Letter to H. L. Price, 

U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, December 16, 1960 

6. RefID 11713 United Nuclear Corporation, Various urine sample results between 

1962 and 1964, 1962 through 1964. 

7. RefID 11714 United Nuclear Corporation, Various urine sample results between 

1962 and 1964, 1962 through 1964. 

8. RefID 11724 (pp. 22-25) J. A. Lindberg, United Nuclear Corporation, 1963, Letter to 

Charles Keller, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, October 28, 1963 
Document No. Battelle-TBD-6001; Appendix D Revision No. 0 Effective Date: 3/14/2008 

Table D.1 INTERNAL DOSE PATHWAYS - Inhalation of Airborne Radionuclides Assumptions: Intakes are in dpm per calendar day. Dose entered into IREP as alpha radiation Intake value is the geometric mean of a lognormal distribution except where GSD is listed as constant. Those intake values ar

distribution) 

Job Category Year 

Operation 

Phase 

Relevant

Nuclide 

Solubility 

Type 

Intake 

(dpm/d) GSD 

TBD R

Research 

Operators 1/1/1959 - 6/13/1963 Operations U234 S 12590 3.29 Air sample Supervisors 1/1/1959 - 6/13/1963 Operations U234 S 4784 3.0 Air sample Other 1/1/1959 - 6/13/1963 Operations U234 S 4784 Constant Air sample Operators 6/14/1963 - 12/31/1969 Operations U234 S 7662 3.0 Air sample Supervisors 6/14/1963 - 12/31/1969 Operations U234 S 2311 3.0 Air sample Other 6/14/1963 - 12/31/1969 Operations U234 S 2311 Constant Air sample Operators 1/1/1959 - 6/13/1963 Operations U234 M 871.9 3.29 Air sample Supervisors 1/1/1959 - 6/13/1963 Operations U234 M 331.2 3.0 Air sample Other 1/1/1959 - 6/13/1963 Operations U234 M 331.2 Constant Air sample Operators 6/14/1963 - 12/31/1969 Operations U234 M 560.2 3.0 Air sample Supervisors 6/14/1963 - 12/31/1969 Operations U234 M 169 3.0 Air sample Other 6/14/1963 - 12/31/1969 Operations U234 M 169 Constant Air sample All After 1/1/1970 Residual U234 S 10.34 Constant Air sample All After 1/1/1970 Residual U234 M 0.72 Constant Air sample 
Document No. Battelle-TBD-6001; 

Appendix D 

Revision No. 0 Effective Date: 3/14/2008 Page 6 

 Table D.2 EXTERNAL DOSE PATHWAYS - Whole Body Based on monthly film badge results and 12 months per year of work. Doses are entered into IREP as Photons 30 – 250 kev Values are either constant (no distribution) or the Geometric Mean of a lognormal distribution as indicated. 

Job Category Year 

Operation 

Phase 

Whole body 

(mr/yr) Distribution 

TBD Ref

Research J

Operators 1/1/1959 – 12/31/1969 Operations 180 Constant Film badge dSupervisors 1/1/1959 – 12/31/1969 Operations 90 Lognormal (GSD = 1.524) Film badge dOthers 1/1/1959 – 12/31/1969 Operations 11.6 Constant Film badge dAll After 1/1/1970 Residual 11.6 Constant Film badge d
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Appendix D 

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Table D.3 EXTERNAL DOSE PATHWAYS - Skin Assumptions: Based on monthly film badge results and 12 months per year of work. Doses are entered into IREP as Electron >15 kev These doses are in addition to the Whole Body doses in Table D.2 Values are either constant (no distribution) or the Geometric Mean of a lognormal distribution as indicated. 

Job Category Year 

Operation 

Phase 

Skin 

(mr/yr) Distribution 

TBD Ref

Research J

Operators 1/1/1959 – 12/31/1969 Operations 2880 Constant Film badge dSupervisors 1/1/1959 – 12/31/1969 Operations 1080 Lognormal (GSD = 1.815) Film badge dOthers 1/1/1959 – 12/31/1969 Operations 186 Constant Film badge dAll After 1/1/1970 Residual 186 Constant Film badge d